C. Dale Brittain_Wizard of Yurt 04 by The WITCH;THE CATHEDRAL

Author:The WITCH;THE CATHEDRAL
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy Fiction, General, Fantasy, American, Wizards, Witches, Fiction
ISBN: 9780671876616
Publisher: Baen
Published: 1995-04-01T05:00:00+00:00

PART SIX

The Borderlands

The air cart came down out of the mountains. The snow lingered on the northern slopes, but finally we dropped enough that the land beneath us was green again, and we spotted miniature flocks of goats followed by miniature goatherds. These were the first humans, other than the wizard, we had spotted in three days.

I filled my lungs with cold air and almost felt confident again of my ability to practice wizardry. But I reminded myself that this might only be due to the influence of the land of magic, not a sign of returning abilities.

Vor pointed. “There’s my valley.” Ahead of the air cart was a deep gash in the mountain slope, perhaps a mile wide and ten miles long. The sun had not yet reached down the sides of the rift, but I could see a waterfall pouring into it from the mountains and a dark green river winding the length of the valley.

The air cart slowly descended beside the waterfall, its roar loud in our ears. The tumbling water rushed downward like something solid, and drops of spray nearly reached us. Vor leaned what I considered dangerously far over the edge of the cart, staring ahead. The valley floor was a patchwork of fields, but there were no buildings. “So where do your people live?” I started to ask and then saw them.

Their houses were built into the nearly vertical rocky sides of the valley, half-hidden by gnarled trees. A network of steep stairs, ladders, and toeholds connected the valley floor with the doors of dwellings burrowed back into the rock. Theodora, with her love of climbing, would like this valley.

“How long is it that you’ve been gone?” I asked as though casually.

“Years,” Vor replied briefly.

“Why haven’t you been home again?” asked Paul.

“Three thousand miles is a long way on foot,” said Vor. “My men and I reckoned we might not be home again in our lifetimes.”

As we moved slowly downward, I could see people on the ladders, looking up. To them, I thought, we must appear as frightful, appearing without warning out of the sky, as the gorges had appeared to the citizens of the cathedral city. “We don’t want to terrify anyone into falling,” I said anxiously.

Vor tore his eyes away from the valley long enough to give me a quick, amused glance. “Everyone knows these purple flying beasts aren’t dangerous. The only surprise will be when they see us inside the skin.” I was interested to realize that the flying beast from which the air cart had been made was not unique, as I had always supposed. I found myself wondering if we could find an aged flying beast and induce it to come back south with us, so that after it died a natural death I could have an air cart of my own.

The air cart was now level with doors and windows, and heads protruded, staring at us. Paul waved cheerfully, and several people waved back. We landed with a bump in a meadow by the river, a mile downstream from the waterfall.

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